Thank You, Holy Father

By John
Rivera

As Pope
Benedict XVI ends his pontificate, Catholic Relief Services offers our thanks for
his years of Church leadership and, in particular, the gift of his encyclicals "Deus
Caritas Est" ("God Is Love," 2005) and "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in
Truth," 2009). The profound teaching in these two papal documents invigorates
and encourages us each day as we serve our brothers and sisters
living in poverty around the world.

In November 2011, Pope Benedict XVI waves to devotees as he lands at the Benin airport in western Africa. Photo by Helen Blakesley/CRS

Two
important insights stand out in these papal documents:

Pope Benedict XVI
made clear the importance of caritas, our love of neighbor, in the
mission of the Church, in what he called "the dynamic of charity":

Charity
is love received and given. It is "grace" (cháris). Its source is the
wellspring of the Father's love for the Son, in the Holy Spirit. Love comes
down to us from the Son. It is creative love, through which we have our being;
it is redemptive love, through which we are recreated. Love is revealed and
made present by Christ (cf. Jn 13:1) and "poured into our hearts through the
Holy Spirit" (Rom 5:5). As the objects of God's love, men and women become
subjects of charity, they are called to make themselves instruments of grace,
so as to pour forth God's charity and to weave networks of charity.

This dynamic of charity received and given is what gives rise to the
Church's social teaching, which is caritas in veritate in re sociali: the proclamation of the truth of Christ's love in society. ("Caritas in
Veritate," #5)

The Church cannot
neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments and
the Word…. ("Deus Caritas Est," #22)

In April 2008, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass at Nationals Park. Relieve his visit through photos from the event.

The Church's
deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming
the word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating
the sacraments (leitourgia), and
exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia). These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable. For
the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well
be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of
her very being…. (#25)

Yet, while
professional competence is a primary, fundamental requirement, it is not of
itself sufficient. We are dealing with human beings, and human beings always
need something more than technically proper care. They need humanity. They need
heartfelt concern. Those who work for the Church's charitable organizations
must be distinguished by the fact that they do not merely meet the needs of the
moment, but they dedicate themselves to others with heartfelt concern, enabling
them to experience the richness of their humanity. (#31)

Charity and
justice are inextricably linked; justice is an essential part of charity:

If we love others with
charity, then first of all we are just towards them. Not only is justice not
extraneous to charity, not only is it not an alternative or parallel path to
charity: justice is inseparable from charity, and intrinsic to it. Justice is
the primary way of charity or, in Paul VI's words, "the minimum measure" of it,
an integral part of the love "in deed and in truth" (1 Jn 3:18), to which Saint
John exhorts us. ("Caritas in Veritate," #6)

The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the
political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and
must not replace the State. Yet at the same time she cannot and must not remain
on the sidelines in the fight for justice. She has to play her part through
rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which
justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper. A just
society must be the achievement of politics, not of the Church. Yet the
promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of mind and will
to the demands of the common good is something which concerns the Church
deeply. ("Deus Cartias Est," #28).

John Rivera is CRS' communications director.
He is based Baltimore, Maryland.